


Flip of a Coin

by Rozivala



Series: Whatever It Says [1]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game), Life Is Strange 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gun Violence, LGBT Themes, Multi, Sean Has Powers - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2019-08-06 19:44:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16393949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rozivala/pseuds/Rozivala
Summary: AU in which Sean has powers and it fucks up the whole storyline. Oops. Alive!Dad. Sean-centric.





	1. Faster Than My Bullet

**Author's Note:**

> My first story o_o what do I put here???

It felt like stepping on a cloud.

All around them was chaos: Brett was spasming or choking or something, the Officer was shouting and pointing his gun everywhere, his Dad was running towards them, Daniel was crying, Sean was trying to explain- and then the gunshot.

His heart entered his throat, and time seemed to slow, and he _moved_. It felt like stepping on a cloud, and then white hot pain tore through his chest and he screamed- everyone screamed, and the world exploded.

He landed on his back, staring blankly at the sky, and he felt hands on his chest- except no, that _really hurt_ and he needed them to get off _now_. “It hurts…” he whispered, begged really, “let me go, it hurts.” But the hands didn’t stop putting pressure on his wound, instead he began to actually listen to the voices talking to him.

“It’ll be okay Sean, I’m sorry- I’m so sorry, but I have to keep holding it.” Was his dad crying? That was…

“Where’s Daniel?” He found himself asking weakly instead, Daniel had gone down, and there was smoke- when he turned his head Brett was lying so still and the police car was turned over and the cop- god, the cop…

It was hard to see through the pain, it made his eyes bleary, unfocused, or were those tears? Shit, was he crying? It hurt so bad, but he’d been shot right?

The hands left his chest.

He gasped, without the pressure the pain was somehow colder, deeper. It hurt to breathe. “Oh god…” he whispered, grasping weakly at his own chest and trying to put pressure back against the wound. Why had Dad left him? He wouldn’t leave…

He turned his head the other way and saw Dad cradling Daniel, who was starting to wake up. He’d been unconscious? It only took a second for his Dad to rouse him, and then he was rushing back over and pushing back on Sean’s chest. “Just breathe Sean, just breathe. We’ll get an ambulance for you, you’ll be fine- Daniel!”

Sean finally noticed his little brother, crying and blearily staring at him but knelt at his side holding his arm tightly. He jumped when his name was called, clearly fighting whatever weird fatigue or drowsiness had hit him. “Get his phone, from his pocket, call for help!” Dad instructed.

Daniel immediately began digging in Sean’s pockets, but the world seemed darker now, and his hands hurt too- why couldn’t he just fucking breathe?! He tried to say something but it came out as a painful croak- but his Dad understood; he’d left Lyla on skype. Somehow his brain thought that was a priority. “It’s okay son, she’ll understand. She’ll visit you in the hospital, it’ll be fine.”

Why was Dad crying again? Oh god, a hospital, he _really_ needed a hospital.

“I found it!” Daniel cried victoriously; “Do I call 91-“

Police sirens. They finally kicked into his foggy brain, and he panicked. No more cops. No more. They were supposed to be at a party, tonight was going to be so much fun- was he going to die here? He couldn’t, he wouldn’t-

Sean found that light and airy place again, and with his heart in his throat he stepped onto the cloud, and everything moved again.


	2. Calling All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lyla saves the day, and Dad is making questionable decisions! What does it mean?! I don’t know! Something!
> 
> Also I promised Sean-centric but he passed out okay so chill we’re getting some extra points of view I guess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What am I doing!!

It didn’t work at first. That light and airy place? The feeling of his heart in his throat, of stepping on a cloud? It didn’t work. He wasn’t sure what it was supposed to do, but it felt like he should be moving, going somewhere, and instead he did nothing.

“C’mon Sean, you’re strong, just keep your eyes on me and stay awake; I’ve got you!” His dad… Sean couldn’t die, his Dad would fall apart, was _already_ falling apart, and Daniel-

He barely had the thought of wanting to go home- and really he was home, this was his front yard - when it happened again, he just… _moved_.

The three of them crashed onto the couch, and he blacked out immediately. It must not have been for long though, because Dad was right there by his side again, hands pushing on Sean’s chest, and the pain was… barely there. He felt so tired, he was slipping, and the airy feeling was gone… but he couldn’t feel his heart, in his throat or otherwise.

What did that mean?

“Dad,” He croaked, voice sounding stronger than he felt, but still cracking and teary, “I’m scared.”

“I know, I know,” his dad said quickly, “but you’ll be okay, everything’s going to be okay, just keep looking at me.” Sean’s eyes drifted upward, catching his dad’s face. He didn’t even know Dad could get that pale, but that was all he noticed, and it became too hard to focus again. “Sean! Sean! Look at me!”

“‘m tryin’...” he tried to respond, and he was trying, really, but it hurt, and he was so weak.

A small hand was holding his, and the only reason it even registered was because it was so cold and wet. His eyes rolled down and there was Daniel, holding tightly to his hand, clutching Sean’s phone in the other with just as tight a grip.

It was the last thing he saw before his eyes and ears failed him. Darkness closed in and voices became distant. Maybe he’d feel better when he woke up, and everyone would stop shouting so much…

-_-_-_-

Lyla had never been more afraid in her life than when she heard the shouting from her laptop.

Sean had run off, she’d never seen him like that before, angry and worried- and what kind of cryptic bullshit was ‘something's going on outside?’ She’d chew him out later of course, he couldn’t just run out on her like that, but she’d text first, just to make sure everything was okay. That look had worried her.

She wasn’t the most patient of people though, so as the minutes ticked by she stood up and hurried to finish her outfit. She left Skype open only because Sean might come back and explain himself, and if he didn’t well she could chew him out even more later.

Then there was that noise. She’d been vaguely aware of the police siren passing by her house, but the way the ground shook and the abrupt silence of said police car?

It was probably just fireworks, the police would chew them out about noise complaints or something and it’d be over.

…but she cast another worried look at her laptop, the sound had seemed to echo even louder from its little speakers. Surely Sean would come back now and complain about his neighbors or something right?

He didn’t.

She sat at her desk for a long moment, giving up on the outfit, and just listened. She recognized those voices, even through her laptop’s shitty speaker and probably several walls. That was Sean’s dad, and Daniel, and they were screaming somebody’s name.

She knew whose name it was, but at the same time… her brain didn’t let her recognize it.

“Mom!” She called, bolting from her room; “I’m going to Sean’s!” She didn’t hear the response as she swiped the keys on her way through the kitchen, not even asking permission to take the car, and ran for the garage.

The ride passed in a blur, but she didn’t live far so that wasn’t a surprise. She saw the cop car was totally busted, there were- there were _bodies in the street_. A cop car, two bodies- god, was that Brett?!

She whipped out her phone and answered it, the damn thing had only been vibrating the entire time but she only answered it now.

“Lyla! You can’t just take the car! God, what is wrong with you, I have to-“ she barely heard a word her mom said, hands trembling as she pulled onto the side of the road and put the car in park and threw the door open.

“Mom,” she gasped out, “something happened at Sean’s there’s- there’s police and-“

She spotted her best friend’s Dad and his kid brother crouched over another body in their front yard, but she couldn’t hear what they were saying… but she _knew._

“Oh god, Sean! _Sean!_ ” They didn’t hear her, and she started towards them quickly.

“Lyla, honey?! What’s happening? Tell me what’s happening!” Her mother’s shrill voice had turned to surprisingly genuine concern.

Then they were gone. It was like watching a scene from Harry Potter; one moment they were there, and the next the Diaz family distorted oddly and vanished in a swirl of twisted colors, disappearing like they’d never been there in the first place, except for a huge pool of red, right where…

Lyla gasped, shocked by the sudden magical display, and dropped her phone.

Two more cop cars blew past her, and she screamed, not having realized they were even coming, totally tuning out the blaring of their sirens as she stood there in the middle of the street gawking at a scene straight out of a movie; cop car overturned, bloody bodies, patches of fire and smoke, a street lamp was knocked crooked- _god_ , what had happened here?!

And Mr Diaz? Daniel? Had that really been them? And was that… had that been Sean they were crouched over? It couldn’t be- it couldn’t be, he was fine, she just needed to call them and make sure she wasn’t losing her mind.

She would regret this later, when Sean answered and told her everything was fine, but for now she rather unrepentantly hung up on her mother after scooping her phone up off the ground, and ran back to her car.

He picked up on the first ring. “Sean! Are you okay?! What’s happening-“

Or she thought he had picked up. “Lyla!” Daniel answered loudly, sounding relieved and afraid all at once. “They shot him!”

What?! “What?!” She echoed her thoughts, “Who shot who?! What happened? Where did you guys go, I just saw you!” She blabbed nervously, and then realized she was talking too fast. “Just put Sean on the phone!” She demanded instead, not worrying about getting answers from Daniel when Sean was the one she really wanted to talk to.

There were sounds in the background, Mr Diaz was shouting- he _never_ raised his voice like that. Never. Suddenly he was in her ears, and she realized Daniel must have given the phone to him instead of Sean, which meant- what did that mean?!

“Lyla, what did you see, where are you?!” He asked- no, asked was too nice a word for the strangled tone he used, voice raw and yet like iron.

“I stole mom’s car- she’s so pissed - I’m pulling around back, there are cops all over your street! I was just there, and I saw you- I- I don’t know what I saw! One moment you and Daniel were there with- and then you were gone! I don’t know!” This was why she needed stronger anxiety medicine, holy shit she couldn’t even think straight- why the hell was she driving right now?!

“The police shot him, they shot my son, and then Daniel- it doesn’t matter, just pull around back, we have to get out of here.” She didn’t even question it, because that was why she was driving right now, even though her anxiety levels were reaching even greater heights, it was because her best friend needed her. “Daniel! Grab Sean’s bag, and the one in the closet- the big green one. We’ll be right there Lyla, just stay put.”

Of course he said that just when she pulled in and threw open the car door, ready to sprint inside and see her friend for herself. She slammed the door back unhappily, and watched as Daniel came sprinting from the backyard and rushed to her car, carrying Sean’s school bag and a an old bag of camping gear if she remembered correctly, from the closet in the dining room? Damn how did she remember that, she must’ve only seen the thing once.

Daniel climbed into the back seat quickly, shoving the bags in the floor and crawling between the seats to sit beside her in he passenger side. His face was tear stained, and his hands were covered in blood- but- but that was his costume right? “Lyla-“ he tried to say, but she heard the door across the yard open again and out came Mr Diaz… and Sean.

She almost screamed. She might have actually screamed. “Sean! Oh god!”

Daniel had left the back door open, and Mr Diaz charged forward, cradling his eldest limply in his arms. They ducked into the back of her car and he spread Sean out on the backseat and Lyla and Daniel both turned in their seats to get a better look.

Oh god, there was blood _everywhere_ , why was he bleeding so much? A fucking cop had done this?! He was only sixteen! Oh god, _Sean!_

“Drive Lyla!” Mr Diaz shouted, slamming the back door behind him and then kneeling in the floor and putting more pressure on a thick red-soaked cloth over Sean’s chest.

She pushed the gas before she even fully turned around, spinning out of the backyard and back onto the street just in time to inconspicuously pass another cop car, sirens wailing as it tore down back the way she had come from.

“Holy shit,” she said, “what are we doing?!”

“Just get us out of Seattle, I’ll explain everything later.” Mr Diaz promised, barely sparing her directions before turning back to lightly shaking Sean and trying to get him to wake up.

“Shouldn’t we go to a hospital?!” Was she losing her mind right now?! This is just like one of those really vivid nightmares that don’t make a whole lot of sense and you know you’re doing everything wrong but you can’t stop because it’s a dream!

“No! We can’t go to the hospital, just get us out of Seattle-“

Mr Diaz was more a father figure to her than her actual father, so when he said no hospitals she listened, even if she wanted to scream that hello, Sean was _dying_ in the _backseat_ of her _mom’s_ car. What. Even.

God, what was happening right now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A close guess! But no, Sean isn’t doing any time stuff, he’s teleporting! Because that’s different-ish! And fun!


	3. Santeria

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sleeper has awakened... to mysterious voices in his head! Also reunion #1! The Daniel one doesn’t count!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was gonna be longer buuuut it felt more fun to end it there?

_“I’m coming baby…”_ Her voice was so familiar… who was she?

Sean shifted uncomfortably, and then winced at the pain. Suddenly he was aware of _a lot_ of pain. It radiated from a throbbing spot in his chest, and the back of his head, and his legs were stiff… Was he in a car? The vibrations went right down his nerves and set him on fire.

“Oh god,” he muttered faintly, “I’m going to be sick.”

“Sean!” Daniel’s face popped into view, looming over him suddenly. “You’re awake!”

Well, obviously enano. Or at least he might have said something to that effect if he didn’t feel like the next thing out of his mouth would be vomit. Was he hung over? This felt much worse than being hungover.

_“Don’t worry honey, mommy’s coming…”_ That voice was… his mind began to untangle a little, startled to wakefulness, and it all came flooding back. “Mom…?” He wondered aloud, uncertain.

“Sean?” Daniel asked, concerned. “I’m going to get Dad, I’ll be right back- don’t move!”

No es problem. He wasn’t going anywhere until the world stopped rolling underneath him…

Except it wasn’t. He was in the backseat of a car, and despite the pain radiating from all ends of his body he didn’t actually feel the car moving beneath him. Strange.

Oh but he did feel awful anyway, something had dried crustily on his jacket, and in his hands, and there was this overpowering tangy smell. Not to mention the fucking _gun shot wound_.

Shit, that had actually happened?

...whatever that had been anyway. His head was fuzzy, but the police officer, he remember the gun going off, and the pain, and then… the couch? No ambulances, and Daniel, he remembered Daniel holding his hand… god this was going to scar him for life.

Speaking of fuzzy memories, where was Dad? Hadn’t he shown up somewhere in there? Oh right, Daniel had gone to get him, he must be close by then…

_“Almost there, just hang on a little longer baby…”_ Ugh, his head was all… yuck. That voice, that was probably like some serious traumatic stress intrusive thoughts thing right? His mom was not actually coming. No way.

He ignored how that felt like a lie in his stomach.

“Daniel?” He muttered, wondering what was taking so long and trying to sit up.

Immediate regret. He collapsed back, breathing hard, and weakly grabbed at the chest wound. It felt… not good.

Carefully he tried to sit up again, moving his legs so he was sitting in the backseat instead of laying. It was not an easy process, but the awkward tilt and the buckles digging into his side, he didn’t want to stay down any longer than he had to. His pants peeled away from the seat, the same dry crusty substance - _blood_ , his mind supplied - had adhered him to the leather… how long had he been laying there? Why hadn’t they gone to a hospital.

He was immediately dizzy again, but once he was up he felt a little better, though no less confused. They were at a gas station? In the woods? All around the two low buildings were giant trees, stretching up and out and in every direction…

Right. Whatever. Dad would have answers, he just had to find him.

And then a face slammed into the window beside him, and he jumped, heart suddenly racing and the jarred surprised movements making his aches ten times worse. “Sean!” And then the door was open and he recognized the face; Lyla.

What the hell was going on?!

“Lyla?” He asked, dumbfounded. “I think… I way overdid it at that party.” He said, bemused. Nothing was lining up right in his head. How did they get from that tense situation he barely remembered, to a gas station in the woods with Daniel and Lyla?

“Oh Sean, you dipshit.” Lyla said, looking like she wanted to hit him but sounding like she wanted to hug him. She didn’t move to touch him though, just made a face at the red smears on the seat beside him before climbing in and sitting there anyway. “God I was so worried, and you shouldn’t be sitting up! Your dad is buying some stuff to help clean you up, and then we’re going to see a doctor, so just- just lie back down, here,” she gently grabbed his shoulder and tugged insistently until he followed directions, putting his head in her lap and his feet back up on the rest of the seat. He still kind of wanted to throw up a little, but at least Lyla was there to distract him now.

“What do you remember?” She asked, the kindly concern in her voice was… not surprising, but it definitely put things in perspective. Things had changed from Lame Avenue, Seattle, they were now in emotionally compromised territories. He had not missed this.

He tried to focus on her question instead then, “Uh, I guess I remember… getting ready for the party? And Daniel, I- I was mean to him, and Brett was there?” Ugh, his head, why couldn’t he remember it clearly? It felt really important that he remembered it, like serious stuff had happened, he needed to remember, but he just… couldn’t. “Someone called the cops or something, I remember sirens- and getting shot- I think?” He voiced it as a question, but they both knew that was a fact. He didn’t remember it clearly, but that noise, the pain, the screams, he remembered those, and he clearly felt the wound now.

“Did we- did we run?” He asked, voice low. It felt like they had run, that was the only explanation for where they were now and not a hospital. He finally met her eyes and saw they were filled with tears. She nodded and bit her lip. There was more, but she couldn’t say it. He hated it when she got like that, the anxiety just choked her up, but… he understood too. He’d wait for Dad and Daniel to get back, they would answer his questions.

“Oh Sean, I’m so sorry! I- you’re going to be okay, alright? I’ll help you! And your Dad is here! And Daniel, he’s been so brave, you’ll be okay, I promise!” She was so earnest and upset it was kind of heartbreaking, but… he believed her. Maybe he should tell her that.

“I believe you.”

He said it quietly, meeting her eyes so she knew he meant it, but he was already tired out and the emotions were too much to deal with right now. He looked away. The look on her face… she had enough to worry about, this was probably the worst thing that could have happened to her. Dragging her into this, however he’d managed to do that, was only going to make all her problems worse.

They were the friends who didn’t talk seriously about their problems, they just made jokes and cared but like… silently. Not literally, he and Lyla, they could rant all day about anything and everything, but they never made a big deal out of it. There was nothing they could do but be there for each other. Maybe that was how she’d come to be in this mess, he could picture it now, Lyla stealing her mom’s keys, driving like a madwoman and organizing a daring escape from their hometown just to save her best friend-

“What the hell? Is this your mom’s car?!” He demanded, recognizing it suddenly. “Holy shit Lyla!”

She started giggling.


	4. Going Under

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are approaching maximum diverge! Hold onto your butts!

“...thank you Doctor, we’re on our way now.” His dad’s voice drifted in from the open door, sounding exhausted and anxious. A soft electric beep signaled the end of the phone conversation. 

Sean tilted his head back to try and see out the door behind him, but Lyla’s hand came to cup his face and keep him still. Had he been falling asleep? The last few moments felt kind of hazy and his eyes were heavy. He sighed, and then groaned when his reflexive deep breath stretched his chest a bit too far.

“How is he?” Esteban asked, then seemed to notice his son was actually awake; “Sean?”

“I’m here,” he answered softly, trying to relax the tension in his shoulders. “Feelin’ not so good.”

There was a rustling sound, and Lyla took her hand from his face so she could take something. A shopping bag soon entered his vision, dangled over his head for a second and then placed in the floorboard. “Hang in there okay? Dr. Herrero is getting ready to see us,” he said, trying for helpful but sounding… Sean wasn’t awake enough to decide what exactly his father sounded like. Nervous maybe. No… cautious, that was it. “Do you remember him?” He asked, definitely sounding cagey now.

Sean didn’t really remember. “Maybe,” he said quietly.

Lyla suddenly had a small medicine cup in his face, one hand holding it by his lips and the other helping tilt his head forward. He drank it without question, not even registering what it tasted like, but definitely noticing that cottony feeling in his mouth.

“Mom’s Doctor, right Dad?” How long had Daniel been sitting there? Sean blinked tiredly at his brother, who sat in the front passenger seat using wipes to clean his hands. His Dad climbed into the driver’s seat, and he finally got a good look at him; compared to Daniel, who was only just now cleaning his hands, his Dad looked mostly put together. His jacket was changed, clean, but there were still dark splotches on his shirt that really could’ve passed for anything. Now that he noticed, Lyla’s hands were clean too.

That made sense. He couldn’t put his finger down on why, but later, once he’d gotten some decent rest, he’d put it together; they were on the run, wouldn’t do to have the local drug store calling about customers stained in blood. There was probably a bathroom nearby, or an outhouse or something.

He really wished he could use one right now, the crusty blood stains were itchy and uncomfortable.

“...okay Sean?” Lyla was asking, and he realized he’d tuned out again. 

“Huh?” So eloquent.

“I’m going to take the bandage off, clean up a bit, is that okay?” She repeated, concerned.

He made a noise of agreement but was already drifting again. Hey, when had they had time to put a bandage on in the first place?

His eyes fell shut, but the feel of Lyla touching him kept him from fully falling asleep. She was pulling his shirt up and tugging on some cloth that was so tightly wrapped around his chest it was a wonder he hadn’t realized it was there before. He was too tired to be embarrassed, and even the discomfort and pain could only keep him awake as he did his best to minimize his reactions and ignore the feelings so he could get some sleep.

He should’ve expected the peroxide. He hissed and tensed, but even that couldn’t make his eyelids budge. Lyla’s whispered apology and the soft hum of starting the car finally lulled him into the black.

-_-_-_-

It was a relief to Lyla knowing they were going to a doctor. That had seriously been stressing her out. Well, everything about today had been stressing her out, up to and including that bull surprise quiz in economics- which, totally irrelevant to the situation at hand, but seriously not cool.

She sighed, trading the napkin dipped in peroxide for some of the wet wipes Daniel had. Sean has drifted off to sleep, and his permission to ‘clean up’ had been dubious and lackluster at best so she wasn’t sure how comfortable he was with her wiping him down, but if the roles were reversed and she had blood crusting up her bra she would kill him if he left that there for her to wake up to, unconscious boob groping or no.

So. Wet wipes. In all the places she could feasibly reach without totally undressing him. Unfortunately for him that did not include anything below the belt; boobs were one thing, dicks were another.

At least the… bullet hole, Jesus Christ this was so messed up! At least it was clean now. And surprisingly tiny given how much blood had gushed from it. It was also empty. In a good way. Maybe. She wasn’t sure what exactly was the better option, but before Mr Diaz had turned her mom’s scarf and a washcloth from the camping bag into makeshift bandages he had briefly tested the wound to see how deep it was once they saw it didn’t pass through the other side. Turns out it wasn’t that deep, and the bullet was mysteriously missing. Lyla did not volunteer her hypothesis that the whole… teleporting thing… yeah, that, probably meant it got left behind.

She didn’t want to think to hard about how that worked. Not until they could actually test it anyway, she wasn’t about to have her best friend turn into a Harry Potter wizard and then die on her without sharing the magic first!

Because Sean definitely wasn’t going to die. He was going to give her a heart attack, but at least he wasn’t going to die.

Probably.

She bit her lip and pulled his shirt back down. She very deliberately did not ask any questions. It wasn’t because she was afraid of the answers.

It wasn’t.

-_-_-_-

Karen had not been to Seattle in years… and this was not how she wanted to make her return. Funny how despite going well over the speed limit and not recalling a single street name she still knew the way to the house without having to think about it.

It wasn’t funny at all.

God damn it! She slammed her hands on the steering wheel again, biting back tears and curses both. Dr. Herrera has sworn! He’d promised her a hundred times back forth that it wasn’t genetic! How had this happened?!

She tapped her ear piece twice; “Janet, I need you to find an address for me.”

Dr. Herrera has some explaining to do. 

She glared harshly at the police tape cordoning off the street to her former home, where her boys and her ex-husband lived. Used to anyway. Who knew where they were now.

Safe hopefully.

God she really hoped they were.


End file.
